The Stand Against Solvent-Based Coatings

PolyCore™ is reshaping the coating process throughout the textile industry. Replacing solvent-based coatings with sustainable water-based coatings is just one of our technologies that aim to reduce the impact of the textile industry on the environment. The reasoning behind this specific movement is simple; solvent-based coatings utilize petroleum which releases Volatile Organic Compounds into the air. VOCs are a huge contributor to air pollution as well as the depletion of our ozone layer.

Every year there are about 170 million backpacks sold worldwide. Let’s assume each daypack uses 0.5 yards of solvent based polyurethane and has 100 grams of solvent based coating. This means that approximately 300,000,000 kg of MEK (a commonly used strong solvent with high volatility) will be used in the coating process.  By switching to our water based polyurethane coating, all of the VOCs released from the 300,000,000 kg of coating will be eliminated, while mechanical performance will be enhanced with our patented high abrasion resistant coating technology.

For years climate change seemed like a problem for future generations, but recently we’ve seen it causing worldwide disasters right now. These steps toward reducing our impact needed to be taken yesterday, but today is the next best option. By eliminating the use of fossil fuels in our manufacturing process, we will make a significant stride toward reducing the impact of textile manufacturing on the environment. Together, we can take a stand against the use of solvent-based coatings by replacing them with a sustainable and equally effective option. Water-based coatings are the future of sustainable textiles and a step towards healing our planet.